These exercises are taken from the PraxTrax.org Complete Fretboard Course.
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Learning the Fretboard

A String - Week 2 - Day 5

The Adjacent Fret Rule - BEAD-G

In this lesson we continue the discuss "adjacent note pairs". In a nutshell, you find the same notes beside each other all over the fretboard. If you are wondering what note is at A7, for example, you can just look at E7 or D7 and use the adjacent fret rule.

This relationship between adjacent frets is based on the way the guitar is tuned - each higher string is a "fourth" above the lower one. So there is a sequence of "fourths" that applies everywhere on the fretboard - except when the B string is involved*

That sequence goes like this:

C - F - Bb - Eb - Ab - Db - Gb - B - E - A - D - G

That means whenever you find a C, it is beside F, F is beside Bb, B is beside E, and so on*. I think of this as the BEAD-G sequence (B-E-A-D-G). Whenever you have a B on one string, you have an E on the next string up, an A on the next string, a D on the next one, and so on. If you can remember that C-F are the first two notes in the sequence, after that it's BEAD-G with flats, then BEAD-G without flats. Then it starts over - G is followed by C.

I call this The BEAD-G Rule. Like that famous group of Australian brothers called the BEADGEEs!

In the following exercise we'll focus on these adjacent notes. First we'll work on E string to A string pairs. Then we'll work on A string to D string pairs. Occasionaly we'll look at the sequences across all three stings: E-A-D.

As you listen it would be good to play the notes on your guitar. Remember, it's C-F, then BEAD-G.

The BEAD-G Rule - E and A Strings

The BEAD-G Rule - A and D Strings

*The B string is always the exception to these rules because it is tuned 4 semi-tones above the G string rather than 5. That means when going from a fret on the G string to the adjacent one on the B string, the B string note will be a semi-tone lower than the BEAD-G rule normally says. For example, a "normal" pair is A-D, but in the case of the G to B strings it is A-Db. Yes, this can be quite confusing!

These exercises are taken from the PraxTrax.org Complete Fretboard Course.
More Free Exercises